


and there was only one bed (except they were camping)

by cardcatchers



Series: shippy dnd garbage [2]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Survivor's Club - Fandom
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, F/M, and jerry being an absolute king as usual, large amounts of embarrassment, small amounts of pining, this isn't really explicitly romantic but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cardcatchers/pseuds/cardcatchers
Summary: Calestio’s eyes begin to flutter open at the first rays of dawn. She can feel the sleep crusted in the corners of her eyes and there is a slight crick in the side of her neck, but she is content to stay exactly where she is: one booted foot sticking out from under her blanket, eyes idly watching the leaves above shift in the wind, head pillowed on something warm and solid. She feels well rested and extremely comfortable.Which, honestly, is very odd.
Relationships: Calestio Ardulvyrae/Benji Ataru
Series: shippy dnd garbage [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678633





	and there was only one bed (except they were camping)

Calestio’s eyes begin to flutter open at the first rays of dawn. She can feel the sleep crusted in the corners of her eyes and there is a slight crick in the side of her neck, but she is content to stay exactly where she is: one booted foot sticking out from under her blanket, eyes idly watching the leaves above shift in the wind, head pillowed on something warm and solid. She feels well rested and extremely comfortable.

Which, honestly, is very odd. Camping out on the road isn’t the worst thing in the world, but inns are almost always preferable. Cal usually wakes up cold after sleeping outside, and she doesn’t take a pillow with her when she travels, choosing instead to bunch up her cloak to save space in her pack. Unfortunately, the aforementioned cloak is still caked with dirt and blood from last night. 

All of this begs the question: what is she using as a pillow? 

As the question crosses her mind, a soft  _ wuff _ of air blows past the side of her head, making her ear twitch and swat involuntarily. Cal freezes.  _ Not what, but who, then _ , she thinks.

Cal keeps her breathing deliberately slow and even as she takes stock of her surroundings. Her face is resting against a plain linen shirt--unhelpful. By the way her arm is draped across the person’s midsection, though, she can tell they’re slightly larger than her. A quick glance to the side reveals a green arm tucked around her.

_ That certainly narrows it down. _ Mystery solved, Cal slips back into a meditative half-sleep to wait for the rest of the party to wake up. A few more gusts of breath move past Cal’s ear before she realizes: that’s the wrong shade of green.

Cal goes very, very still against Benji Ataru. Benji Ataru, who she has known for less than a month, who has come to her in the middle of the night with a sword sticking out of his arm, who makes a  _ remarkably _ good pillow, but who has also bolted awake more than a few times from nightmares that Cal hasn’t asked too much about out of courtesy (gods know he’s extended the same discretion her way). Benji Ataru, who is a light enough sleeper that Cal won’t be able to extricate herself without waking him and opening herself up to some awkward, if not outright painful questions.

_ Shit. I am up the fucking stream in a shit boat with no paddle. _

Mind spinning in search of a way that this could end with her dignity intact, Cal nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of a voice behind her.

“Oh shit, we’re doing cuddle piles now?” Jerry, kazoo-key-lele in hand, is making his way over from his post on last watch. “Can I join?”

“Jerry! Shh!” Cal hisses frantically, blood running cold every time Ben shifts beside her.

“Oh,” Jerry looks the smallest bit crestfallen, but quickly replaces the expression with a knowing smile. “Is this just a you two thing, then?”

“Uh, no, I, uh--I think I rolled over in my sleep and just, um, stayed put, I think.”

“Gotcha. I’ll go get started on breakfast, then?”

“Wait! I do not know how to get up without him waking up!”

Jerry tilts his head quizzically, looking down to meet Cal’s eyes. “Why do you need to do that?”

“I do not know! I do not want him to be mad that I pushed a boundary or something. Maybe he has a thing about personal space!”

“You guys were like, sleeping though. I bet it’s probably fine. Ben’s a rational dude.” 

Cal feels more than hears Ben grumble in what almost seems like agreement. Nevertheless, Cal looks back at Jerry with pleading eyes. “Please, will you just fucking help me?”

Jerry huffs. “Okay, okay! Maybe just… rip off the fantasy band-aid?”

Cal just stares at him, hoping her eyes are saying  _ “Oh, thank you, I hadn’t thought of just standing up.” _

“Alright, I see your point,” he responds, “but it’s better than him waking up halfway through you trying to get up slowly, right?”

“Okay, yes, I suppose.” Cal takes a steadying breath and Jerry tries and fails to stifle a giggle. “What?”

“I’m sorry, this whole situation is just funny!” he laughs.

“Oh, sure, laugh it up music man. See if I help you next time you are in an awkward spot.”

“Okay! I’m sorry! I’m here for moral support. You can do it, Cal!”

Despite Jerry’s advice, Cal shifts her weight off of Ben’s torso painstakingly slowly, freezing every time she thinks he’s about to wake. She very deliberately ignores Jerry snickering into his palm. Finally,  _ finally _ , when she’s fairly sure she can move without jostling Ben, she jumps up and off of her sleeping pad in one swift and relatively silent movement. Jerry golf-claps in her direction, and Cal does a quick, embarrassed bow in spite of herself.

A quiet, nervous chuckle escapes her mouth as she looks back at her bedding. “I think you said something about making breakfast? Would you like some help?”

“Hell yeah!” Jerry exclaims as he begins to walk towards the fire pit. “I picked some berries during my watch that I’m pretty sure aren’t poisonous!”

Cal gives a concerned smile. “Sounds… delicious?” she says as she takes another glance at Ben’s sleeping form. Cal stops to tug his blanket back up from where he’d pushed it in his sleep, then moves to follow Jerry towards the fire. 


End file.
